A recent blog post in Health Affairs suggests looking to Germany as a model for transitioning to a single-payer landscape from a multipayer system. Pointing to presidential hopefuls floating single-payer and "Medicare for All" proposals, the authors say such initiatives face key hurdles. " ... The […]
Report: Competition Not Guaranteed Price Dropper
New Medicare payment data suggests competition is not a guaranteed solution for lower drug prices, Axios reports. The data looked at drug price growth between 2016-17. Some key highlights from the report: Of 17 drugs under Medicare Part B with 10-plus competitors, only five of them saw price […]
HHS Receives 18,000 Comments on Drug Rebate Proposal
The Department of Health and Human Services has received some 18,000 comments on the Trump administration's proposal to end the current rebate model used to negotiate drug prices, STAT reports. According to the report, a large quantity of the submitted comments could have been the product of […]
Gottlieb Says Insurers Must Take Risk on Biosimilars
Outgoing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on Tuesday said insurers must endure short-term risk to post long-term savings on biosimilars, Modern Healthcare reports. Gottlieb made the comments during a Brookings Institute event, adding that there remain significant […]
Gottlieb Slams Sponsors Over Unwillingness to Rethink Trials
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb recently took aim at sponsors and CROs for their "continued reluctance" to deploy more innovative approaches to clinical trials, FierceBiotech reports. Gottlieb, who is set to resign next month, says the agency has opened the door for more […]
Legislators Target Anti-Competitive Practices
U.S. policymakers are looking to crack down on anti-competitive strategies some pharmaceutical companies use to delay the entry of generic competitors, according to a FierceHealthcare report. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee on Wednesday discussed a host of bills […]
Article: FDA, Gottlieb Pushed on RWE
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb made a concentrated push on bringing real-world evidence into the fray, according to a Managed Care report. Gottlieb, who is set to resign next month, charged forward by issuing the FDA's real-world evidence framework in which it […]
NICE META Tool Training Nears
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is planning to host a Medtech Early Technical Assessment (META) Tool training event April 2 in London. According to NICE's website, the fee to enter the training event is £500 ($667 USD). "Created by NICE Scientific Advice ... , the META Tool© […]
Article: More Robust Regulations Needed to Wrangle Private Health Care
A recent article by economist Craig Garthwaite urges stronger regulations to address key problems in private health care, and that private organizations should "support efforts to fix competition ... ." "Our biggest policy mistakes result from writing poor regulations that either explicitly or […]
Congress Invites PBMs to Hearing
Moving forward with hearings on drug prices, the Senate Finance Committee has invited representatives from five pharmacy benefit managers to testify, Reuters reports. According to the report, the hearing is scheduled to take place April 3. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Wyden this week sent invites […]
Medicaid, Medicare Face Big Cuts
President Donald Trump's 2020 budget proposal includes significant cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, according to a Healthcare Dive report. The White House is looking to cut $845 billion from Medicare over the next decade, per the report, as well as move more than $1 trillion from Medicaid spending to […]
Trump Budget Includes Slew of Proposals to Cut Drug Prices
The Trump administration's budget proposal for 2020 features more than two dozen proposals aimed at reducing drug prices, according to an InsideHealthPolicy report. According to the report, the budget includes penalties for drugmakers that engage in anti-competitive practices, and bars companies […]
NCI Director to Serve as Interim FDA Chief
National Cancer Institute Director Ned Sharpless has reportedly been tapped to serve as the Food and Drug Administration's interim chief, according to a FirstWord Pharma report. Sharpless will head the agency after FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb's resignation goes into effect next […]
NPC’s Graff Talks RWE’s Potential, Future
National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) Vice President of Comparative Effectiveness Research Jennifer Graff during an interview with Managed Care said real-world evidence could be used consistently used in the next 10 years. "Whether this is ultimately a 10-year or 40-year evolution will be […]
AbbVie CEO Gonzalez Nets $21 Million
AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez reportedly brought home $21 million in 2018, according to a FiercePharma report, with almost $4 million of that coming from a performance-based incentive award. According to the report, Gonzalez's compensation is heavily tied with the success of the drugmaker's […]
Analysis: ASP Responsible for Big Savings for Medicare, Seniors
A new analysis by the Moran Company found that the Average Sales Price (ASP) system created through the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 has delivered significant savings for the government and seniors. The report suggests the ASP system kept roughly $132 billion in the government's and seniors' […]
Embattled Pharma Bolsters Lobbying Efforts Amid Pushback
As it continues to face widespread criticism and condemnation for high drug prices, the pharmaceutical industry is bolstering its lobbying efforts in Washington, according to a Bloomberg Government report. The political landscape, however, according to Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing spokesman […]
Drugmakers Plan for Post-Gottlieb Landscape
Drugmakers are preparing for life after Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb who announced his resignation, effective in about a month, this week. The announcement ignited somewhat of a panic in the biotech industry, according to a FiercePharma report, as uncertainty looms […]
FDA Commissioner Gottlieb Resigning
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced his resignation Tuesday, the Washington Post reports. His resignation will reportedly go into effect in about a month. Gottlieb took over the post in May 2017, and in his time as the agency's chief focused heavily on […]
Chernew Says IPI Could Lower Drug Prices, Carry Unintended Consequences
Michael Chernew, director of the Healthcare Markets and Regulation Lab at Harvard Medical School and American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) editor-in-chief, says the international pricing index proposed by the Trump White House could lower prices, but that it also carries the potential for some […]
Lilly Draws Criticism Amid Decision to Sell Cheaper Insulin Generic
Eli Lilly is set to offer a cheaper alternative to its most popular insulin, Humalog, and while the generic will carry a 50 percent discount, the drugmaker has received some criticism from policymakers for the move. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden dubbed the move "PR acrobatics," according to STAT, and […]
Survey: More Americans Blame Pharma for High Prices
According to a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), more Americans blame the pharmaceutical industry for high drug prices, with 79 percent describing drug prices as "unreasonable." The report also found broad bipartisan support for legislative action to curb prices. A majority of […]
Sen. Durbin Slams Pharma Over Opioid Crisis
Sen. Dick Durbin during a Senate hearing on Thursday took the pharmaceutical industry to task over the ongoing opioid crisis, MedPage Today reports. Durbin pointed to a committee hearing several years ago in which it was disclosed the pharmaceutical industry sought permission to produce some 14 […]
Report: Pharma Execs Largely Dodged Questions
Pharmaceutical executives during Tuesday's Senate Finance Committee hearing mostly dodged key questions, and responded with answers tattered by years of use, according to a STAT report. While top executives representing Merck, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie, Sanofi and […]
Fendrick, Klein Back Drug Rebate Proposal
The Trump administration's proposal to eliminate pharma-to-PBM rebates in Medicare Part D and Medicaid managed care organizations has the potential to "significantly lower out-of-pocket prescription drug costs," the authors of a recent opinion piece published on the Morning Consult write. The […]
AstraZeneca CEO Urges Government Action on Drug Pricing
While fellow pharmaceutical executives urged policymakers not to intervene in drug pricing during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday, Feb. 26, AstraZeneca's chief executive went the opposite direction. According to rolling updates from MM&M, Pascal Soriot pleaded with Senators to take […]
Pharma Execs Warn Against Heavy Congressional Intervention for Drug Prices
As the Senate Finance Committee put the pressure on representatives from seven of the top pharmaceutical companies over rising drug prices, the executives warned legislators that any intervention could pose significant problems, the Associated Press reports. Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier during the […]
Pharma Execs to Testify on Drug Prices Today
Representatives for seven top pharmaceutical companies are slated to testify before Congress (watch the hearing here) today on the rising cost of medicine. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:15 a.m. According to a Wall Street Journal report, testimony obtained during the hearing could play a […]
FDA, Flatiron Health Expand Research Collaboration
Flatiron Health and the Food and Drug Administration's Information Exchange and Data Transformation (INFORMED) Program on Monday, Feb. 25, announced a two-year extension and expansion of their real-world data (RWD) collaboration. The initiative since it launched in 2016 has worked to use real-world […]
Avalere Health’s Sloan Talks Drug Rebates on Podcast
Avalere Health Associate Principal Chris Sloan in a recent Relentless Health Value podcast discussed the Trump administration's proposal to effectively eliminate the rebates pharmaceutical companies pay to pharmacy benefit managers. The administration's proposal would apply to drugs covered by […]
